Auburn head coach Tim Carter looks on in the closing minutes of the game. (Wesley Sinor/wsinor@al.com)

The Tigers and Mustangs were competitive throughout the jamboree. (Wesley Sinor/wsinor@al.com)

MILLBROOK, Alabama -- Auburn and Stanhope Elmore gave football fans a glimpse of what's to come Thursday night as the teams squared off for a two-quarter spring jamboree that turned into a defensive slugfest.

The Tigers came out on top 7-0, getting their only touchdown with 10:05 to play when defensive back Selwyn Torbert picked off Stanhope's Bishop Frazier and scampered roughly 40 yards for the score.

With 1:08 to play, Stanhope backup quarterback and starting running back Jarryus Wilson found Tyler Matthews for a deep pass play that set the Mustangs up on Auburn's 12-yard line, but sacks by Rashaan Evans and Randy Hooks sealed the win for the Tigers.

"We had some guys make some great plays," said Auburn head coach Tim Carter. "That's always encouraging. We have lots of things to work on, but we didn't get any major injuries. I think we have a good nucleus and I think our kids are going to come out of here and have a good season."

The Mustangs had several opportunities to score inside Auburn's 20-yard line, but never could punch the ball through.

"We wanted to get as many reps as possible and put guys in position to make plays," said Stanhope head coach Jeff Foshee. "We made some good plays, but we made some mistakes tonight that I think are very correctable. This is a young football team, but I thought we did some good things tonight against a very talented Auburn team."

Foshee praised the play of Wilson, who had several impressive carries on offense.

Auburn and Stanhope aren't scheduled to play in the regular season this year, but they could very well meet in the postseason as both teams had quality playoff squads in 2012.

To get back to the playoffs, the Tigers will have to replace one of the country's top linebackers, Reuben Foster, who signed with Alabama after his lone season at Auburn. Evans is expected to fill the void on defense and looked good Thursday with two big sacks and a hurry at defensive end.

"He took a step up this spring," Carter said. "He got better, and that's a sign of a guy who wants to be the best at what he does."

At quarterback, sophomore Bradley Northcutt has taken the reigns for the Tigers following the departure of Cameron Echols-Luper, who signed with TCU after a successful senior campaign.

"I really like Bradley, he's going to be a good football player for us," Carter said. "He's a great leader and he's a great athlete. We're looking forward to his next three years. Knowing him, his work ethic will be like nobody else's."